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[In a study by Michael Pergamit,] Pergamit analyzed the data of 1,168 12-year-olds who were first interviewed in 1997 and then tracked for six years as part of the federally funded National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. He found that half of the youth who run away do so before 14 and do so at least twice. He says they include slightly more girls than boys and far more white and black youths than Hispanics. Pergamit says these youth "couch surf" — first staying with friends and relatives before ending up in shelters or on the street. "They get money from friends," he says, adding that most don't resort to panhandling, prostitution or selling drugs. Data on runaways, however, are limited, he says. "We don't really know."

Three times as many teen runaways cited economics as a factor in 2009 as did so in 2000, according to data by the National Runaway Switchboard, a hotline that handles more than 100,000 calls each year and receives public and private funds. The "Why They Run" report is based on caller data and youth interviews.

The weak economy also helps explain why the number of calls from homeless youth doubled from 739 in 2008 to 1,470 last year, says the hotline's executive director, Maureen Blaha. She says some of the youth (up to age 22) or their parents lost jobs or couldn't get work.